Improvement in vehicle-springs



UNITED SAT QFFIGE.

WILLIAM B. WHITNEY, OF LEOMINSTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO F. A. WHITNEY CARRIAGE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN VEHlLE-SPRINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 157,952, dated December 22, 1874; application filed October 29, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. VVHIT- NEY, of Leominster, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Carriage-Springs, and that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents, in perspective, one of th e sections or leaves of the spring, with one car left just as itis punched out of theplate, and the other ear twisted into position to be united to its mate or fellow. Fig. 2 represents in perspective the completed spring. Fig. 3 represents the relative central position of the circular ears, in relation to the center line of the blank, said ears being made a little to one side of said center line, as and for a purpose that will be hereafter explained.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe the same, with reference to the drawings.

My invention relates, first, to the manner of stamping or cutting out the ears of carriage-springs composed of plate steel, and twisting them at right angles to the flat plane of the section, leaf, or leaves which are to constitute the spring. And my invention further relates to a joint for springs, composed of cars punched or out out of the plate steel andturned at right angles to the fiat of the plate and riveted together, so that the ears may move independent of each other upon their riveted connections.

The sections or leaves A, of which the spring is composed, are stamped or cut out of plate steel, and the cars a thereon are formed at one side of the center line of the body of the leaf, and at a distance from said central line equal to the thickness of the blank, as more distinctly seen by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, so that when the ears are twisted at right angles to the flat plane of the leaf their planes shall be at one side of the central line of the blank, section, or leaf, and so that when the ears of two of these sections or leaves are laid together the bodies will be one directly over the other, and the points of attachment, b I), come in the same vertical plane. The strain upon the spring, by this construction, is taken in a vertical line, and there is consequently no liability of the spring buckling or twisting. The twisting of the cars a is is readily done, as the metal is cut away at c to form a good-shaped ear, and is heated previous to the twisting.

The leaves or sections A being thus made, as above described, have their ears a a laid together, and a pin or rivet, 0, passed through the corresponding holes 2 of the two cars, and washers f f having been placed on the pin or rivet at each side of the ears, the whole is held in place by riveting said pin. The spring will freely play 011 this joint, the ears moving vertically on the piv0t-pin and independent of each other. The spring can be attached to the body and under gear of the carriage by the bolt holes I) b, and itlnay be used in a horizontal position, if so desired, where springs in that position are necessary. The washers f may be of cast metal, and thus an efficient spring made at small expense, there being no upsetting of metal, and nothing but simple punching, bending, and riveting.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is 1. In carriage-springs, the leaves of which are composed and stamped or cut out of plate steel, the ears by which the joints are made twisted at right angles to the flat plane of the leaf or blank, as and for the purpose described and represented.

2. A joint for springs, composed of cars 011 the leaves, punched or cut out of plate steel and turned at right angles to the flat of the plate and riveted together, as and for the purpose described and represented.

WVILLIAM B. IVHITNEY.

Witnesses:

V C. H. MERRIAM, O. N. THOMAS. 

